India Eyes Island Takeover in Strategic Archipelago to Shore Up Defence

Plan in Lakshadweep Shows Insecurity Over China's Growing Presence in Indian Ocean

- Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI - Fisherman Muhammad Yaseen O.C., who lives on Bitra Island in the strategically located Lakshadweep archipelago, is extremely concerned that he may lose both his home and job amid India's quest for greater oversight over the Arabian Sea to counter China's growing footprint.

On July 11, the Revenue Department of Lakshadweep, a federally administered area situated off the south-western coast of India, unveiled a proposal "for the acquisition of the entire land area of Bitra Island".

The objective is to transfer the island in Lakshadweep, which is in the northern Indian Ocean, to "relevant defence and strategic agencies of the government of India", according to the notification.

Residents of Bitra Island fear that this transfer would ultimately require them to relocate to another island.

The union territory of Lakshadweep is strategically perched amid maritime trade routes between the Malacca Strait, the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz.

India has a strong naval and coast guard presence in Lakshadweep. However, China's investments in infrastructure, such as ports and a base in the African nation of Djibouti, and its incursions into the Indian Ocean are prompting India to strengthen its presence.

India sees how China has increased its presence through investments and cultivating leaders in the region, spanning Pakistan and Nepal in the north to Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the south, which Indian experts term a "string of pearls" encirclement strategy.

The July 11 notification sent shockwaves across Bitra Island, the archipelago's smallest island with a population of only 271 people, according to the most recent 2011 census.

While the archipelago also relies on tourism and coconut cultivation, the bulk of Bitra Island's population make a living by fishing in the surrounding marine-rich reef.